While the present invention is often described herein with reference to a digital video disc distribution system, an application to which the present invention is advantageously suited, it will be readily apparent that the present invention is not limited to that application and can be employed in article dispensing systems used to distribute a wide variety of dispensable articles.
Conventional stand-alone vending machines are configured to support the dispensing and return of articles by a user or customer without a need for employee assistance or intervention during the rental and return processes. Such dispensing machines typically store such vendible or rentable articles in discrete, identifiable locations. A selection process enables the user to select among a vend mode, a rent mode, and a return mode, and an article selection enables the user to select a desired videocassette to be vended or rented. These conventional dispensing machines include a user-friendly control interface resembling the interface conventionally used in association with an automated teller machine. The dispensing machines also preferably have a main graphical user interface with touch screen interface control capability and an article return slot for returning rented articles. In the return mode, typical article return routines through the article return slot are initiated through the main graphical user interface and/or through the swiping of a credit card used for the initial rental process of the media article being returned.
Some dispensing machines do incorporate additional user interface portions having additional or even identical user interface components. For example, these user interface components could be incorporated on other panels of the housing of machine so that the machines can be used simultaneously by multiple consumers.
However, to simultaneously accommodate multiple consumers the additional user interface portions require duplicated interface screens, duplicated credit card readers as well as duplicated article distributing openings or slots, which raises production cost of these machines to prohibitive levels. Full additional article dispensing machines utilized for higher traffic locations are clearly more costly and take up additional floor space where article dispending machine are located. As such, the DVD rental industry is in need of less costly article dispensing machines that accommodate multiple customers without duplicating all components of user interface portions while providing a more efficient return process of rented articles in high traffic areas.